JAMM 121 – Media Writing, Sec - University of Idaho



JAMM 121 – Media Writing, Sec. 01

Spring, 2007 MW 1:30-3:20

Instructor: Vicki Rishling,

Office: Room 342A, Admin Building

Office Hours: T, TH, 11 a.m.-noon, or by appointment

Phone: 885-6019 (office); 596-5550 (cell)

E-mail: rishling@uidaho.edu

( Web site for this class:

class.uidaho.edu/mediawriting. You will find a copy of this syllabus, important and useful links to journalism and writing sites, and other materials we will use from time to time in this class. I may post outside readings here, and occasionally take-home quizzes.

Welcome:

The ability to write well is the most important skill you can acquire in college. It is essential in any aspect of the media industry. Although the goal of this class is to prepare you for a career in communication, keep in mind good writing is good writing. You can only start where you are right now. With some effort you can improve your skills, and gain the tools both grammatically and style-wise to become proficient in the kinds of writing you’ll be exposed to in this class. This is the foundation, and the beginning, to prepare you for a media career.

My emphasis will be print, but we will cover some of the basics for PR, broadcast and advertising in the second half of the course. If your writing is strong, it is easy to adapt to those writing styles later on.

I’ll be there every step of the way, for any of you who want or need extra help. And I pledge to work every bit as hard for those of you willing to improve your basic skills. Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have questions or concerns.

Attendance, etc.:

Attendance in this class is MANDATORY, because you will have writing assignments and/or quizzes every day..; if you miss class without an excused absence, you will receive a ‘0’ for that day’s work. ASSIGNMENTS CANNOT BE MADE UP. Your two lowest grades will be dropped; if you fail to show up for that day’s writing assignment or quiz, or fail to turn in an assignment on deadline, you will receive a “0” for that work. No whining, no crying, no exceptions.

If you are an athlete representing UI in the spring, or have other university-sanctioned occasions which will prevent you from attending a class, talk to me after class. We will arrange a make-up schedule individually.

Class begins on time; be on time. Do not let your cell phone ring or work on email/Internet once class begins – these things piss me off.

Required text and materials:

Fedler, Fred. Reporting for the Media. Seventh Edition. (New York: Oxford University Press, 2001.)

Three-ring binder to keep class assignments and materials. SAVE ALL ASSIGNMENTS!

Reading a daily newspaper…

The Associated Press Stylebook and Libel Manual. Norm Goldstein, Editor. (New York: The Associated Press, 2006.) Note: Any edition after 2001 is OK…)

Optional:

Kessler, Lauren, and McDonald, Duncan. When Words Collide: A Media Writer’s Guide to Grammar and Style. Sixth Edition. (Thomson/Wadsworth Group, 2003.)

(Highly recommended if you are serious about writing and weak on grammar…)

A good Webster’s dictionary. A Thesaurus.

A subscription to one of the local/regional papers, or an online susscription.

Assignments:

∙ In-class writing assignments – Usually 100 points each – these will form the bulk of your grade in this class. You will learn news writing and AP style, review grammar, and practice writing through the exercises provide. You will learn how to put together a solid news story, organize information and use proper attribution and quotes. Almost all writing exercises are done in class. This helps you learn to organize your thoughts and write on deadline. There might an occasional outside writing assignment, covering an event and writing the news story.

∙ Quizzes – Usually 10-25 points each – will be given frequently, and will cover current events and grammar, AP style and syntax, and assigned readings in the Fedler text.

∙ Outside of class: Reporting your first story – 200 points total.

Deadlines for this assignment are listed in the syllabus. We will probably cover the Borah Symposium. More on this later…

∙ Outside reading assignments & class discussion.

Grading:

You can expect 18-20 writing assignments, 8-10 quizzes and your story assignment. Your points will be added up and divided by total points possible. (There is no mid-term or final.) We live in a world of deadlines; deadlines must be met on all assignments. Late work will be penalized.

A guideline for grading on writing assignments:

A (90-100%): Work is clear, concise and generally free of errors in AP style, grammar, and spelling. Lead is strong, and copy well organized, answering all the newsworthy questions and free of editorial comment.

B (80-89%): Adequately written copy with only minor errors. No factual errors, misquotes or misspelled names. Lead is solid and summarizes story. Fairly clear, uses proper news style and requires minimal editing.

C (70-79%): Writing is sub-standard, and requires extensive editing. Lead is weak, and/or story omits important information or lacks organization and clarity.

D (60-69%): Writing exhibits poor organization, lack of newsworthiness and missing information throughout. Extensive editing and revision needed.

F (don’t go here…) Libelous statements, misspelled names, factual errors, poor writing, grammar, style, etc. throughout. Also given for missed deadlines and unexcused absences.

Some other important points:

∙ Accuracy: You MUST have facts correct, and spell names correctly in all assignments. For factual errors and misspelled names an automatic 10 points is deducted from your assignment grade. Proofread carefully!

∙ It’s, its and there, their and they’re – automatic five points deducted. Learn these…

∙ Academic honesty is expected. We work in a world in which integrity and credibility are vital. Fabricating information and plagiarism is not tolerated. Do not go here…

∙ Readings, which generally pertain to the upcoming assignments, should be completed for the week they are listed. There is a lot at the beginning – stay caught up. Chapters are short, but don’t skip over examples! The reading directly relates to that week’s writing exercises.

∙ If you find yourself struggling or want some extra help in a particular area, come visit me. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. I make myself available to help you learn the craft of writing. Ask me in class; seek me out after class or make an appointment.

Course structure:

You never know when I will throw a quiz, so stay caught up on reading assignments, and read a newspaper daily. Readings should be done before we start that week’s work.

Be aware of this: I present a lot of material in lecture you will not get in your readings, so stay alert in lecture. Some of that material will appear on quizzes. Besides, I get depressed when you’re sleeping and I can’t.

The following weekly breakout is a guideline only, as I am subject to whims. We may have guest lecturers, special out-of-class assignments or otherwise stray from this syllabus. For those who like a rigid schedule, well, get over yourselves…

I also am open to suggestion for any speeches or out-of-class assignments you think might be good; come to think of it, I just plain like your suggestions and comments. Suggest something and I’ll consider it..

I also use examples from your writing in class. We all make mistakes but improvement can happen through good critique. Please do not take comments personally; they are meant only to help us all learn the mechanics of writing and style.

Tentative weekly schedule:

** Because of the holiday at the beginning of spring semester, I urge you to get ahead in the readings…

WEEK 1 (Jan. 10)

Classes start Wednesday

Readings: Fedler: Chaps. 1 & 2

Topics: Intro to class, syllabus and Web site. Copy editing symbols. AP Style Manual and why we use it… Appendices in back of Fedler text.

WEEK 2 (Jan. 17)

Monday: Martin Luther King Day

Readings: Chaps. 3 & 4

Topics: Some fundamental grammar review: SVO, verbs and active voice. Intro to newswriting style. First writing assignment.

WEEK 3 (Jan. 22-24)

Readings: Chaps. 5 & 6; AP Style Manual: A guide to Punctuation (back of style manual)

Topics: More on newswriting and AP style; newsworthiness. What goes into writing a news story?

WEEK 4 (Jan. 29-31)

Readings: STUDY CHAPTER 6!!! Start reading Chapter 8

Topics: Leads, leads leads…

WEEK 5 (Feb. 5-7)

Readings: Chapter 8

Topics: Writing your first news stories

WEEK 6 (Feb. 12-14)

Readings: Chaps. 9 & 10

Topics: Using quotes and attribution. Writing fair and balanced stories…

WEEK 7 (Feb. 19-21)

Readings: Chapter 7

Topics: Alternative leads and “nut” graphs; writing more effective leads

WEEK 8 (Feb. 26-28)

Readings: Chapter 12

Topics: Covering speeches and meetings; working from your notes (accident exercise)

WEEK 9 (March 5-7)

Readings: Chapter 13

Topics: Specialized types of stories: writing effective description

WEEK 10 (March 12-16)

SPRING RECESS!!!

WEEK 11 (March 19-21)

Readings: Chapter 14; review Chapter 7

Topics: Feature stories, and finding a strong lead-ins; content drives the story…

WEEK 12 (March 26-28)

Readings: Chapter 15

Topics: Most news coverage is public affairs reporting… A sampling of different stories.

WEEK 13 (April 2-4)

(BORAH SYMPOSIUM COVERAGE, April 1-4

Readings: Chapter 17; REVIEW of Chapter 12

Topics: We will talk about covering live events as preparation for attending and writing about the Borah Symposium…

WEEK 14 (April 9-11)

Readings: Chapter 20 & 21; AP Style Manual: Briefing on Media Law (back of book)

Topics: News gathering and the law: ethical decision making

WEEK 15 (April 16-18)

Readings: Chapter 19

Topics: Intro to PR and the news media

WEEK 16 (April 23-25)

Readings: Chapter 18

Topics: Writing for broadcast and radio

WEEK 17 (April 30- May 2)

Readings: Outside readings

Topics: Other kinds of media writing; convergence.

The importance of solid writing skills. Wrap-up.

WEEK 18 (May 7- 11)

Finals Week – no exam in this class…

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